Elected officials discuss pressing physical therapy concerns

Zach Wamp, U.S. Representative from Tennessee’s
Third Congressional District, and Bo Watson, State Representative, District
31, were among those to examine “Government Issues Affecting Physical
Therapy and the Patients We Serve” at the Sixth Annual Physical
Therapy Forumsponsored
by The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga DPT Program and Chattanooga
State PTA Program. Nearly 300 participants attended the program at
no cost.

According to Dr. Debbie Ingram, UC Foundation Associate Professor of Physical
Therapy, participants heard the latest news and insights from Capitol
Hill and the Tennessee Legislature. Members of Congress and the General
Assembly debate legislation that has a dramatic impact on the practice
of physical therapy, and Ingram identified the Medicare
therapy cap as a major federal issue.

“The Therapy Cap went into effect January 1. It limits a Medicare
recipient to roughly $1700 worth of outpatient physical therapy and speech
therapy combined for a calendar year,” Ingram said. “This
becomes problematic for the person who has a stroke in January and uses
up all therapy dollars. If that person then falls and breaks a hip
later that year, the patient is not eligible for therapy under Part B.”

Congressman Zach Wamp (R-TN3) is a co-sponsor of the
physical therapy legislation to repeal the Medicare outpatient therapy
caps. Wamp is the founder and current co-chairman of the Congressional
Fitness Caucus, which promotes healthier lifestyles for all citizens. In
2004, he launched “Tennessee on the Move” as a statewide program
administered by the University of Tennessee to promote physical activity,
proper nutrition and preventative healthcare.

State Representative Bo Watsonis the first physical
therapist elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives. Representing
District 31, Watson serves on the Health & Human Resources and Government
Operations Committees. He is a 1983 graduate of UTC and earned a
PT degree from the University of Tennessee at Memphis. As a practicing
physical therapist for 20 years, Watson is the Director of Therapy Services
at Parkridge Medical Center in Chattanooga and frequently serves as a clinical
instructor to the PTA students from Chattanooga State and PT students from
UTC.